Jay Holcomb was involved for more than 40 years with International Bird Rescue in Fairfield.

Photo: Lee Celano, Lee Celano

Jay Holcomb was involved for more than 40 years with International...

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oilspill09_0168_mac.jpg January Bill and Jay Holcomb,with the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, walk along Rodeo Beach looking for birds affected by the spill. They located 7 live birds and 3 dead ones. The living birds will be transported for cleaning. Rodeo Beach in the Marine Headlands. After the collision of the Cosco Busan container ship with a tower footing of the Bay Bridge yesterday morning , clean up crews begins the work of containing the spilled oil as it reaches nearby San Francisco Bay beaches. photog} / The Chronicle Photo taken on 11/8/07, in San Francisco, GA, USA

Jay Holcomb, director of one of the world's leading bird-rescue organizations and a pioneer in oil-spill wildlife rehabilitation, died Tuesday in Modesto. He was 63.

The cause was kidney cancer, his family said.

"He might have saved more wild animals than anyone else in history," said Cindy Margulis, director of Golden Gate Audubon. "He really drove the idea that wildlife care can be organized and professionalized, and he set a template for the rest of the world."

Mr. Holcomb was involved for more than 40 years with International Bird Rescue, the Fairfield organization that assists in bird-rescue efforts at oil spills around the world. He and his crew led bird-rescue operations after spills such as the Cosco Busan in San Francisco Bay in 2007; the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989; and the Gulf of Mexico spill in 2010.

Mr. Holcomb and his staff would teach local wildlife workers how to clean oiled birds, and also how to organize armies of volunteers, news media, donors and other crisis-related logistics. He'd often stay on site for months.

"He was a visionary in that he knew that if we were successful on the ground, we could show other people," said Barbara Callahan, the center's current director. "His commitment to wildlife was extraordinary. Every bird mattered to him."

Mr. Holcomb was born in San Francisco and grew up in San Anselmo. In 1971, he became involved in wildlife rescue after an oil spill in San Francisco Bay and was among the original members of International Bird Rescue. In 1986, he became director.

The organization grew to include three bird rehabilitation centers - in Fairfield, Los Angeles and Alaska - and dozens of staff. The group has saved well over 100,000 birds worldwide.

Mr. Holcomb mostly learned about wildlife care on the job. Among the ideas he helped propagate was using Dawn dish soap on oiled birds - a cheap and efficient way to help birds even in the most remote areas.

At an oil spill, Mr. Holcomb was invariably calm, focused, good-humored and organized, colleagues said. His demeanor set the tone in situations that would otherwise be chaotic and overwhelming, they said.

"He was always able to show people a better way," Callahan said. "But at the same time, he was always learning. Every event was an opportunity to learn something new."

Mr. Holcomb won a slew of environmental awards, including Oceana's Ocean Heroes Award in 2010, the 2010 John Muir Conservationist of the Year Award and the National Wildlife Rehabilitators Association lifetime achievement award in 1996.